The Art of Blood and Power (Book 2 in The Gifted Trilogy)

12- Backhanded Gifts

Before I was ready to let go of the moment, Porter pulled away. "I have something for you" he smiled, pressing his forehead against mine as he reached behind himself and stuck his hand into his back pocket. "I spent the first of my Royal Guard allowance getting it for you."

I watched as he pulled out a metal necklace, holding it up to me so that I could see the small metal bird at the center of the chain. "It's small, but you've never been one for big flashy things."

I smiled, my chest warming at the gesture. "It's beautiful, Port," I said, reaching up to take the necklace.

As soon as my fingers touched the metal, I felt a wave of nausea go through me as exhaustion threatened to cause my legs to collapse. I instinctively dropped the necklace, gasping as the truth washed over me. "That's steel."

"Well, yeah" Porter admitted, looking at me confused. "I mean, I figured with the spiral of steel on your arm gone, you might want something to hold on to. Something to suppress that part of you that you don't like thinking about."

"My Gifted abilities. It's alright, you can say it" I snapped, not sure where my anger was coming from. Hadn't I told him a hundred times before that I never wanted to control the darkness like I had again?

"What's wrong? I thought you'd like it?" Porter asked, bending down to pick the necklace up. "You told me you didn't like the person you became when you-"

"You're right. I just wasn't expecting it, that's all" I brushed it off. "I'm not used to constantly having steel touching my skin like it used to. It's just going to take a little time to get used to again.

"Well, until then" he said, dropping the necklace into the pocket hidden within the many folds of my skirt. "I just wanted to give you a reminder of your old life. Something that helps you remember a time before all of this craziness. Back when our biggest worry was feeding our families."

"Never thought I'd think of that time as the good old days" I sighed, leaning in to press a swift and gentle kiss to his lips. "Thank you. I really do appreciate the gesture."

He smiled. "Well, I've ignored my orders from June for far too long now. I better get back out there before she decides to wear my hide as a new suit of armor."

"Don't be ridiculous," I snorted. "June doesn't use armor."

Hesitating at first, Porter finally relented, and pressed a swift kiss to my forehead before rushing out of the room. As soon as the doors closed behind him, I felt my plastered smile slip away as my shoulders slumped forward.

Standing in front of the six thrones, I reached into my pocket and fished out the necklace, holding it with the folds of my skirt so that the steel wasn't directly touching my skin. The metal didn't affect me as strongly as before but I still had to fight the strong urge to drop the steel as I calmed my breathing and fought against the newfound exhaustion.

The doors swung open and I looked up from the necklace to see Kess enter the room, slowing down at the sight of me. "There you are, I was getting worried" he sighed. "I thought Nox might have decided to make a reappearance."

I tried to open my mouth to respond but the longer I held the necklace, the weaker I felt. I watched as my hand slowly began to tremble while clutching the miniature steel bird.

"Silvertongue, what's wrong?" Kess asked, walking over to where I stood frozen in the middle of the throne room, holding a present that represented much more than a simple gesture of affection.

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong. Come on, let's get back to the party" I shoved the necklace into the pocket of my dress but as I passed Kess, his arm reached out in front of me, blocking my path. With swift fingers, he picked the necklace out of my pocket and lifted it up to examine.